Love Isn't Easy
by Suki59
Summary: This is an all human Sookie/Eric love story. They meet at college, sparks fly, but love isn't easy. AU, AH, OOC. This is number 1 in my human series.
1. Chapter 1

Charlaine Harris owns these characters.

Sookie

I'm graduating from college next week. It's very exciting for me. I have a new job waiting for me in Los Angeles—my dream job, actually. It's just an entry level position, but it's with a big public relations firm. I majored in Communications at Shreveport College, hoping to go into public relations and the fact that I landed this position is…well…it's just amazing. And moving to L.A….it's going to be a blast, I just know it.

My roommate and best friend, Amelia, is moving with me too. How lucky is that? She was a drama major, and now she's going to seek her fame and fortune as an actress. We've already decided to get an apartment together. She has a lot of waitress experience, so it should be fairly easy for her to get a job while she auditions and waits for that big break. Hollywood, here we come!

Hopefully, I'll have better luck in California with my love life. When I started here as a freshman, I was so innocent. I'd had a few dates in high school, and quite a few heavy make out sessions, but that's about it. I guess I was just waiting for the right guy to come along. Then I met Bill. We had several classes together that first year. He was very bright but needed some help with English Lit, so I offered to tutor him. He was extremely cute with dark hair and eyes and had a certain charm. He offered to pay me, but I suggested he buy me lunch instead. Within a few months or so, he was my official boyfriend. I guess you could say we were happy while we were together. He was my first real boyfriend, my first lover, my first everything, so I really didn't have anything to compare him to.

Bill shared a big house near campus with three other guys. Amelia and I had an apartment together but it was a fifteen minute drive from campus, so I spent a lot of my time between classes at Bill's. That's where I met Eric. He was one of Bill's housemates. Yes, I had a boyfriend, but it was hard not to notice Eric. He was tall with long blond hair (the same color as mine, actually) and had the most perfect physique I had even seen. But his most striking feature was his eyes. They were that icy blue color that you just can't help but get lost in. With looks like that, I figured he was a lady killer and I was right. There were always girls hanging around the house drooling over him, and I saw a different face emerge from his bedroom almost every weekend morning. As beautiful as he was, I was grateful that he wasn't my boyfriend. I recognize trouble when I see it.

Eric was definitely a flirt. When Bill was around, he was a perfect gentleman. But sometimes I would be in the house studying between classes and Bill wouldn't be there, and Eric always sat a little too close to me on the sofa while he read his own book. He would stand and stretch, showing off that spectacular body. Sometimes I would catch him watching me and then he would go back to studying. More than once, he'd find me in the hallway or the kitchen and he would stand too close to me when he talked, making me very uncomfortable. I know he could tell I was nervous and he would kind of get a little smirk on his face, like he'd won some sort of contest between us. He probably just thought he was working his usual charms on one of a zillion girls and thought very little of it beyond the thrill of making me blush. What he didn't know was that I had developed a serious crush on him (I know, I know, get in line…). He was also the frequent star of many x-rated dreams I'd had. You can't imagine how tense I felt sitting beside him, trying to concentrate when my mind kept wandering to my dream the night before where he had me spread eagle on the kitchen counter licking chocolate sauce off of some really important spots. I would just have to shake it off. I was always very grateful that public arousal for a girl was easily concealed because most of the time when he was in the room, I was extremely wet. There were many weekend nights I lay awake in Bill's bed fantasizing about just sneaking into Eric's room and wordlessly seducing him. Sometimes I thought that the only thing that stopped me from actually doing it was that he never seemed to be alone in there.

There was one girl that hung around Eric more than the others and I assumed she was his semi-regular squeeze even though I had never seen her spend the night. Her name was Pam and she was a gorgeous blonde with one of those perfect figures with the tiny waist and the hourglass shape. She had a wicked sense of humor and always looked like she knew everybody's secrets. I really liked her, but doubted if anyone as cool as Pam would ever want to be friends with a study nerd like me. But I was wrong. We did become friends. Or at least we were friendly. I was secretly jealous of her relationship with Eric until the day she told me she preferred girls. My jaw dropped and she had a big laugh at my small-town reaction. I had never met a girl that was openly gay before, but then once I knew that about her, it all seemed to fit. No wonder she was Eric's favorite. They were best friends. She told me that they had dated all through high school and when she came out of the closet, the two of them stayed friends and in a way became even closer. She was fiercely loyal to him and loved to watch the endless stream of wannabes come and go from his bed. She told me once that she wished that I wasn't with Bill because I was just the kind of girl she would want for Eric. I dismissed it immediately, hoping she didn't notice how flustered I got.

On the weekends, Bill's house became party central. There were several fun coffee houses near campus that we liked to hang out in, but when we were feeling a little wild, we hung out at the house. There was a lot of drinking and pot smoking, but things rarely got too out of hand. One night there were about ten or twelve people at the house and we were getting low on beer. Bill asked if I would go and pick some up. I never got carded probably due to the fact that I was quite well-endowed. It had always made me seem a little older looking I guess. "Hey, Sookie, why don't you take your courtesy enhancers down to the store and get us another case of beer? I'm buying." But I noticed that he wasn't offering to go with me.

Eric jumped up off the sofa and said, "Actually, I think it's my turn to buy. I'll go with her." And then he gave me such an intense look that I felt my heart flutter and suddenly it seemed to get very hot in the room.

"Sure thing. I could use some air anyway."

We walked down the street and around the corner to a convenience store. Eric gave me the money and waited behind the building. I started to walk away when he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him. His eyes scanned my face as he stood just a little too close. I felt my breathing speed up as I smelled his scent so close to me. Then I held my breath as he raised one hand up to my chin, trailed his finger down my throat, to the soft skin just above my cleavage and unbuttoned the top two buttons of my blouse. He leaned in a little closer so that I could feel his warm breath on my lips and said, "For good measure."

I floated into the store and bought my case of beer without a hitch. I rarely went into this store so the guy behind the counter didn't know me. He seemed to like the flesh that Eric had revealed though and got a good look as he rang me up. I didn't even care. I was still so high from the scene behind the store. Eric had me so worked up that when I went back out, I walked up to him to hand him the case of beer. He took it from my hands and I kept going until I slammed up against him, grabbed his head and pulled him to me as I crashed my lips into his. I immediately stuck my tongue into his mouth and we were kissing the hottest kiss I had ever had for I don't even know how long until I realized that he couldn't put both of his arms around me while holding the beer. That kind of snapped me out of it, and I took a step back and said, "We'd better be getting back." He just kind of nodded, breathing heavily and had the sexiest look on his face—mostly shock, but also pure lust. It was all I could do to keep from ripping his clothes off and climbing onto him with my legs wrapped around him. But I didn't. I just turned and started walking back to the house. You know, the house where my _boyfriend _lived. Right.


	2. Chapter 2

Eric

The first time I saw Sookie she was walking across campus my freshman year. There were a lot of beautiful girls at school and I noticed them all, believe me, but there was something different about her. She seemed so sweet and completely unaware of how sexy she was. I had never seen a body like that. Her curves were gorgeous and everything wiggled in all the right places when she walked. But then the look on her face was pure innocence and she dressed as if she were completely unaware of her bombshell body and unmistakable sex appeal. I wanted her immediately and made it my mission to find out who she was.

I learned that she was a Communications major and that she lived off campus. I'd heard that she had a boyfriend, but I had never let anything like that get in my way before. I still didn't know her name though. What I did know was that my housemate Bill had a new girlfriend that was hot. She stayed over on the weekends and I could hear them having sex through the walls. I hadn't seen her but knew her name was Sookie only because Bill had an annoying habit of yelling it out when he came. So you can imagine my surprise when one Sunday morning I was half asleep when I got up to go to the bathroom and just pushed the door open to find my dream girl wearing nothing but a towel getting ready to get into my shower. We both stood and stared in shock for what seemed like a long moment before I realized how rude I had been and I apologized and closed the door. I listened to her take a shower and return to Bill's room. I had my ear pressed up against the wall as I heard Bill talking to her back in his room and he called her Sookie. Fuck me. Bill's girlfriend was the hot blonde bombshell that I had my eye on. Damn. What are the odds?

Normally I wouldn't give a shit if some girl had a boyfriend. I'd just go after her anyway. It's not like she was married. But I really did like where I lived and didn't want to piss Bill off and get kicked out of my house. Plus I thought Bill was kind of a dork and hoped that Sookie wouldn't stay with him for too long anyway. I decided that I would take the opportunity to let her get to know me and let her know that I was interested so that when she did realize that Bill was a dork, she could just walk across the hall and fall into my nice warm bed. What I didn't count on was really liking her the more I was around her. She became someone I really looked forward to talking to and not just the nameless bombshell I had lusted for on campus. She really was a sweet girl. And I was right about her being unaware of her own sex appeal. She seemed really pretty innocent. And then one day Bill let it slip (yeah, right, like it was an accident) that he had taken her virginity and I found myself feeling really pissed and jealous. That was not a common feeling for me--jealousy--and I hated it. I was never jealous because any girl I ever wanted I could have whenever I wanted. Except Sookie. The more I realized that I couldn't have her, the more I wanted her. Even Pam noticed, and at first she gave me shit about it, but then she seemed to want to push us together which was kind of sweet actually. I know she really loves me and wants me to be happy. And damn it, I wanted Sookie.

I steered clear of her whenever Bill was around, but I just couldn't resist her when he wasn't. This girl was the object of my every fantasy. She would occasionally stay over with Bill on week nights and I would listen to her sweet little moans through the walls when she was with him and jerk off in my room, picturing her in my bed making those sounds. On the weekends, the house was generally full of girls and I'd fuck pretty much any one of them that would let me so that I could get off at the same time Sookie was in the next room with him. I couldn't even tell you the names of those girls. I would close my eyes and picture Sookie's face with every one of them.

So I had this pathetic fantasy life thinking about my housemate's girlfriend and would sit and study on the sofa with her, staring at her like a lost puppy dog. I had it pretty bad. Then one night Bill sent her to the store for beer—and what a pig—he made some rude reference to her being well-endowed enough to pass for older in front of a room full of people. Then he didn't even offer to go with her. I jumped up to volunteer immediately of course just to be able to be near her and maybe even alone with her for the short walk there and back. She did look older than she was and it was mostly because of her amazing body, but she still dressed like a young school girl, so I took the liberty of unbuttoning a couple of buttons of her blouse before she went in. She came back in no time and went to hand me the beer and then she kissed me. I don't mean she touched her lips to mine. I mean she rammed her tongue down my throat in the most amazingly aggressive sexual kiss I think I had ever had. I thought I would come in my pants and the only thing that kept me from fucking her up against the wall was the case of beer between us. Oh and also the fact that I was in love with her. Jesus, I was in love with her. Fuck. Then as quickly as she had kissed me, she stopped and we just walked back to the house in silence. What the fuck?


	3. Chapter 3

Sookie

I couldn't believe that I had just kissed Eric. I was shocked at how brazen I'd been. I had never done anything even remotely like that before. But boy it sure felt good. The rest of the night, I stayed away from him. I did notice that he was watching me from across the room sometimes and it made me kind of weak in the knees. As it got late and people started to leave, I climbed the stairs to go to Bill's room. I noticed that Eric watched me and I also noticed that there were three beautiful girls sitting on the sofa with him hoping to be his companion for the night. When I had sex with Bill that night, I closed my eyes and imagined that he was Eric. That made me feel so sexy that the sex was much better than usual. I was insatiable. After Bill fell asleep I stared at the ceiling and listened to Eric having sex with his girl dujour in the next room. I was envious but I was also so incredibly turned on. I made sure Bill was still sleeping before I snuck my hand under the covers and gave myself an orgasm while listening to Eric's moans. I wished that I were the girl in his bed.

Eric

After that kiss, it killed me to watch Sookie going upstairs to sleep with Bill. I stayed downstairs for awhile just so I wouldn't have to listen to them together. All I could think about was how badly I wanted her in my bed. Then I couldn't take it any longer and grabbed the hand of the girl beside me and took her upstairs and fucked her blind. I laughed at myself later because when I came I actually had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from calling out Sookie's name.

Sookie didn't come over as much after that night. Or if she did, it wasn't when I was home. I wondered if she was avoiding me, hoping that the kiss meant something and maybe she was considering breaking up with Bill. But then it became evident that they weren't breaking up and it was more likely that she was regretting the kiss and being around me made her uncomfortable. Shit.

Bill was at home without Sookie quite a bit during that time and his old girlfriend, Lorena, started hanging out at the house some. I never liked her much even though I didn't really know her. She was just kind of a loudmouth type and very crass. She hit on me a few times, and one night I actually let her into my room when she knocked, but then I decided that she was just not worth the trouble. I don't turn down no-strings blow jobs very often, I have to tell you. That shows just how much I didn't like her. I thought it was pretty tacky really of Bill to have her around. It's not like they were good friends like Pam and I are. Lorena was definitely still interested in getting Bill into bed and didn't mind who knew it. I wondered if Sookie knew that she was hanging around.

Sookie

After that night--the one with the kiss behind the convenience store--I stopped going to Bill's so much. I just couldn't take being around Eric. I was so attracted to him and knew that it was just an impossible situation. I really loved Bill and didn't want to mess up what we had by throwing myself at his housemate—his impossibly sexy and yet ridiculously promiscuous housemate that was definitely not relationship material. He was fuck buddy material. Only I didn't want to be his fuck buddy. I wanted to be his girlfriend. Damn it.

One night during midterms I was over at Bill's studying. Eric wasn't home, thank goodness. I'd stayed up later than usual on the sofa with Bill. He decided to go upstairs to go to sleep, and I decided that I would join him soon even though it was a Thursday night and I rarely slept over there during the week. But I was tired and didn't want to take the time to drive home. I kept some clothes in my car just for such occasions. I don't know what time it got to be, but at some point I woke up and I was asleep on the sofa. I decided to call it a night and went up to get ready for bed. Once I had washed my face and brushed my teeth, I crawled into bed with Bill. But then I was wide awake again and lay there staring at the ceiling while Bill slept soundly beside me. My thoughts naturally drifted to the Sookie-magnet of a man that may or may not be in the next room. I wondered if he had come home while I was sleeping on the sofa, and since it was a week night, I wondered if he might be alone. I watched Bill to make sure he was in a deep sleep and then slipped out of bed and into the robe that Bill kept there for my use.

Eric's door was closed and I carefully turned the knob so that it wouldn't make a sound and tip-toed into the room after closing the door behind me. He was asleep and he was alone. And he was naked. Oh my god. He was lying on his stomach and the sheet only came up to the backs of his thighs. I had always considered Eric's eyes to be his best feature, but this view made me change my mind. I carefully and silently moved to stand closer to him. I studied his body, the muscles in his back and arms and that spectacular ass. I knew that it was wrong to look at him like this without his consent, but that just made it all the more exciting. I wanted to touch him, but instead I opened my robe and began to touch myself. It was the most erotic experience I'd ever had, watching Eric sleeping and stroking myself, feeling how wet I was at the sight of him. My other hand was pulling on my nipple. I was trying to control my breathing so that it wouldn't wake him. I could feel my heart beating and knew that I was getting close to coming. Suddenly, he moved. I froze. He rolled over kind of onto his side, facing me and put his hand on the most beautiful and biggest erection I had ever seen. My jaw dropped and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to move his hand away and replace it with my mouth. He still seemed to be fast asleep, so I continued what I was doing with my hands. I was so close, never taking my eyes off of him. I was just about to come when I decided that I couldn't take it any longer and I was just going to touch him and wake him up and make love to him. And then I heard Bill whispering my name in the hallway. I stopped and listened. He walked down the steps to the living room. I quickly closed my robe and ran out of Eric's room, closing the door behind me. I dashed into Bill's room and frantically started putting my clothes on.

I walked downstairs and Bill was standing by the sofa in the dark and said, "What are you doing?"

"You know what. I decided that I should just go home after all. I've still got a lot to read and I was thinking I might just need to pull an all-nighter. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"That's okay, but where were you?"

"Hmm?" I was putting my books into my bag.

"Just now. Where were you?"

"Oh, just upstairs. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Night." I gave him a quick peck on the lips and headed out to my car. Good lord, that was close. Was I out of my mind? What was I thinking? I really needed to get it together and behave myself. I couldn't believe how close I had just come to doing something very very wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

Sookie

The following afternoon I was studying at a coffee house near Bill's. I had a midterm in Accounting at four. Accounting wasn't exactly my favorite class anyway and I knew that I needed to really focus on getting ready for the test. I was already tired from the lack of sleep the night before. The coffee house was louder than usual and I was starting to wonder if I should take the time to drive home so I could study with fewer distractions. Or maybe walk over to the library. I really wished I could just walk over to Bill's to study because it was so close by, but I didn't think he would be home and I couldn't stand the thought of being there with Eric. There's no way I could study if Eric was home. The thought of Eric made me feel…I don't know…confused. I really needed to sort all that out. I still couldn't believe what I had almost done the night before. I thought of how he had looked sleeping. The room was dark and quiet except for the sound of my own heart beating and Eric's soft and even breathing. The whole room was filled with his scent and then when he was touching himself…my god, he was beautiful. I shook those thoughts out of my head. I did need to deal with my feelings for Eric, but first I needed to get this exam behind me. Then I saw Bill crossing the street. He seemed to be in a hurry and was heading towards his house. I started to gather my books together and headed towards his house as well.

I walked into the front door (it was never locked), but Bill wasn't in the living room. I knew that he had only arrived a minute before I had. I called his name but there seemed to be no one home. I climbed the stairs and walked to his room. His door was closed so I thought he must have gone in to change clothes or something. I opened the door and there he was lying on his back with some gorgeous naked brunette girl sitting on top of him bouncing away. She turned her head and looked at me and kind of smiled, which turned my stomach. Bill sat up and threw her off of him onto the bed. I'll never forget the sound that his dick coming out of her made. I fought a wave of nausea as I turned to run back down the steps. I was almost to the front door when I looked back to see if he was following me. As I turned back to the door, I slammed right into Eric's hard body as he was coming into the house. He steadied me with his hands and asked if I was okay. I didn't even look at him, but just ran past him out the door.

Eric

I was coming home one afternoon to pick up some books before heading to the library when Sookie ran into me as she was running out the door. She hit me so hard that I was worried that I had hurt her. When I asked if she was okay she didn't even answer, but ran past me and out the door. She was obviously upset about something and like an idiot I wondered if it was about me. Then I saw Bill running down the steps naked with his wet dick at half mast and I knew instantly what had happened. That motherfucker. Lorena was right behind him, wrapped in a sheet asking if he was okay. I just turned around and ran after Sookie but I was too late. I walked the neighborhood but saw no sign of her. I didn't have her cell phone number and couldn't exactly go home to get it from Bill, but I was really worried about her.

Just the night before I had made the decision that I was going to talk to her about how I felt about her. I had come home late from the library and found her asleep on our sofa. Her book was still open and the lamp was on, so I assumed she fell asleep studying. The house was quiet and I figured that everyone else was upstairs sleeping so I took the liberty of watching her for a minute. She was just so beautiful. My eyes wandered over those incredible curves, and I watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. It was all I could do to keep my hands to myself, but then I knew that watching her was enough of an intrusion and I felt a little guilty. All I wanted to do was carry her upstairs and put her in my bed, but then I painfully reminded myself that she was not mine. I reluctantly left her and went upstairs alone. Of course I jerked off thinking about her before falling asleep. If I hadn't had an orgasm, I seriously doubt if I would have been able to close my eyes all night knowing that she was downstairs and alone.

Then I had a dream about her. In my dream, she was asleep on the sofa and then she woke up and caught me looking at her. I watched her lower her line of sight to my crotch and only then did I realize that I was naked and stroking myself while I was watching her. She didn't seem the least bit surprised and just sat up a little and reached up under her skirt to pull her panties off. Then she pulled her skirt up to her waist and opened her legs and started to touch herself while watching my hand, matching my rhythm. Then she closed her eyes in ecstasy for an instant and it seemed like she was going to come. So was I. But then she suddenly stopped and opened her eyes. "Eric, can you help me out? I really need to study." I stopped what I was doing and got down on my knees. She picked up a book and started reading, leaving her legs spread for me. She ignored me and seemed really enthralled by her book while my tongue found her wet and ready. She tasted amazing and my fingers felt how tight she was. I was in heaven and couldn't get enough of her. I assumed she was still reading, but when I looked up, she was holding the book off to the side. Her eyes were watching me, wild with lust, just like they were after that kiss behind the convenience store. Her breaths were coming in heavy pants. Her head dropped back onto the sofa cushion and her eyes started to close a little and she whispered, "So good, baby. So good." She put the book down beside her and her hands grabbed my head, moving me in the rhythm she wanted. She was grinding into me, pushing my face into her with both hands and moaning, "Oh god, Eric, I'm coming. I'm coming baby." The dream seemed so real, it was almost as if I could smell her arousal. Something seemed to interrupt us and I halfway woke up and was uncomfortable sleeping on my hard-on, so I rolled over a little. I wanted to get back to my dream. I was trying to find my way back to the place where we left off. She was so close. But then something did wake me. Not a sound really, but just a feeling. I sat up and listened. After a minute I heard someone going downstairs and then voices. Then I heard the front door close and Bill came upstairs and went into his room.

I took a deep breath and rolled onto my back, impossible hard-on in hand. This was getting ridiculous. I was so obsessed that I swear I could smell her in my room. I lay there and decided that I was going to have to do something. Even though she was with Bill, I needed to tell her how I felt. I made the decision that tomorrow after classes are over, I'll find her and talk to her.

And then there she was running out of the house, upset at obviously catching Bill and Lorena in mid-fuck. Shit. I felt awful at how torn up she must feel, but then selfishly, I realized that tonight would not be a good night to make my move. Fuck.

Sookie

I ran all the way to my car which was parked in the east lot about as far away from Bill's house as you could get without leaving the campus area. I jumped in and locked the door and just started crying. I kept checking to make sure no one was watching me, but apparently you can sit in your car and cry for hours without anyone noticing. Good to know. Don't ask me how I did it, but I got it together just in time to make it to my Accounting midterm. I had a hard time reading the questions through my tears and my concentration was complete shit, if you'll excuse my language, but it was. I knew I had failed it when I left the classroom. I had never failed a test in my life, much less a midterm in a class where the grade was based on only the two exams. I was so screwed.

I walked back to my car and put my books in it and pulled out my cell phone to call Amelia. She wasn't at home but over at a friend's house not too far from my car. I told her what had happened and she insisted that I come to her friend's immediately, so I did. The thought of going home alone and crying there all night was not very appealing.

Amelia was at her friend Bob's house and they were already in full party mode over there. I guess some people were already through with their midterms and were letting off some steam. I still had two tests on Monday but had the whole weekend to study, so I decided that I could use a drink as well. Actually, I decided that I could use a few. Okay, a lot. I wasn't much of a drinker anyway. Add the fact that I hadn't eaten and had just had one of the most traumatic experiences of my life to the mix and, well, I got really drunk. Before I knew it, I was dancing with a bunch of strangers, taking hits from a bong (a first for me) and generally embarrassing myself in public without a care in the world. Amelia was making out with Bob on the couch for most of the night and so I started to look for some cute guy that I could kiss as well. Why not?

Eric

I spent most of the afternoon looking for Sookie but never saw her. I went home to eat and study a little before going back out. I knew that technically it was really none of my business, but I cared about Sookie and knew she must be hurting. I started at the coffee houses that I had seen her in before with Bill, and then just started walking the streets on campus. I had no idea where she lived. I was just starting to give up when I got a call on my cell phone from Pam.

"What's up?"

"Are you busy?"

"No why? What's going on?"

"Well, I'm at a party at Bob's and our little Sookie is here smashed out of her mind. She can hardly stand up and there are four horny guys hovering around her waiting for her to fuck them. She's already kissed two of them. I don't know what's going on, but I think that maybe you'd better get over here."

"I'm on my way."


	5. Chapter 5

Sookie

My night was starting to feel a lot better. I saw Pam at the party and was so happy to see a friendly face. But then seeing her reminded me of Eric and Eric reminded me of Bill, and I was about to get really depressed, so I left Pam and continued my search for some cute guy to kiss. Amazingly, I seemed to be surrounded by cute guys and they were all handing me drinks and offering me hits on the bong. I decided on the cutest one and didn't really have to do anything but pucker up and suddenly I was being kissed and it felt good. That lasted for a minute but then he started to remind me of Bill and so I broke off the kiss and pushed him away. To my utter shock and amazement, there was another equally cute guy right beside that one and he was ready to be kissed as well. This was the friendliest party I had ever been to. And so many cute guys. But then I got tired of kissing that one as well. He kind of smelled like Bill. So I stopped kissing him and turned to the next one. Suddenly I didn't feel like kissing so much anymore but there were so many guys in my face and then one of them was squeezing my behind and I didn't like that. I turned around to swipe at his hand and lost my balance. But as I started to fall, another one of them caught me and had both of his hands on my breasts. I tried to push him away and he was laughing at me. I was starting to get pissed when I heard a deep voice say, "Get your fucking hands off of her." And just like that, the hands were gone and the laughing stopped. I looked up and just gasped, "Eric."

Eric

Fortunately I was just around the corner from Bob's house when Pam called and I ran when she told me what was going on. I walked into the party and saw a pissed off and very drunk Sookie trying to push some asshole's hands off of her breasts while three other assholes watched, waiting for their turn. I saw red and wanted to smash the faces of all four of them. I told the one with the hands to get them off of her and all four turned and left when they saw the look on my face. Sookie looked up and said my name and I just wanted to take her away from there and make it all better, but I knew that I couldn't. She wasn't feeling much pain at the moment, but I knew that she would be when she sobered up. Pam came over and said she would tell Amelia that I had Sookie and was taking her home.

Sookie wasn't walking very well, but I helped her to her car and she gave me her address. I got her into her apartment and thought that I should probably just leave her to sleep it off. I'd have to postpone my own agenda with her 'til god knows when. I told her good night and started to leave when she started crying and said, "Please don't leave me alone right now."

Sookie

Eric had such a scary voice when he spoke to the boob-grabber, but then when he turned to speak to me, it was as sweet as sugar. "Are you ready to go?" Was I supposed to go somewhere with Eric? I couldn't remember. "Where's your purse? Do you have your keys?" His voice was so gentle. "Did those guys hurt you?"

"No."

"But you'd tell me if they did, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, good. Then let's go, okay?"

"Okay." I'd left my purse in the car. I was looking into those beautiful blue eyes while I fished my keys out of my pocket and held them out for him. He said something to Pam that I couldn't hear and I waved to her and Amelia. Then I just let him lead me to the door and told him where I was parked. I don't really remember much of the ride home, but when I was in my apartment and he was going to leave, I think I begged him to stay. I was such a wreck. I knew I was drunk and I was still so upset about Bill and I started crying and then was embarrassed about that too.

He took me back to my room and took my shoes off and then his own and then he lay back on the bed and held me to him and let me cry into his impossibly hard and beautiful chest. I think I may have fallen asleep for awhile, but then when I woke up it was dark and he was still holding me. We still had all of our clothes on but I could feel that he was hard against my hip and I wanted him. All the pain of seeing Bill hit me and all those nights of resisting Eric and dreaming of Eric and wanting Eric and then last night coming so close to touching him, and now here he was in my bed and I just wanted to fuck him and to hell with the consequences. I started to kiss his chest and neck and reached down and grabbed that beautiful erection and started to rub him over his jeans. His head dropped back against the headboard and I heard an audible gasp and then he took my hand and pulled it away and said, "No sweetie. Not like this." I stopped kissing him and started crying again. I was so humiliated and embarrassed. I thought he wanted me, but then he rejected me. Suddenly a wave of nausea came over me and I jumped up and ran into the bathroom. I was throwing up into the toilet when I felt Eric pulling my hair back and holding it and then his rubbing my back gently. I was sobbing between barfing episodes and really wished I were dead. He just kept rubbing my back and saying, "shhhhh," and "it's okay." I just kept thinking how can I ever face him again after this?

Eric

Sookie was having a good cry into my shirt which was fine. I just felt so bad for her. Fucking Bill. How could he do this to her? She deserved so much better. And then those assholes at the party. I guess to them she was just some drunk gorgeous girl, but I knew what she had been through earlier and the last thing she needed was a bunch of horny guys pawing at her. She fell asleep on my chest and I reached over and turned out the light. I would have just stayed right there all night if she needed me to. I thought of all the times I had wanted her and wished she were mine and now she was here in my arms. I couldn't help but get hard, but I had no intentions of taking advantage of her. But then she woke up and started to kiss my neck and she touched me and it felt so good. I thought I would explode and just come in my jeans. But then I thought I'm no better than the assholes at the party and I gently removed her hand and told her no. I did want her. I wanted her in the worst possible way, but not like this. I wanted to make love to her when we were both happy and together, not like this. I didn't want to just be some mistake she made on the worst night of her life. I wanted to be the one she loved. Suddenly she was up and throwing up. I wasn't too surprised actually, and thought well, at least she might feel a little better in the morning if she gets it all out. I stayed with her until she was done and then got her to drink some water and take some Tylenol. I took her hand and walked her back to the bed and pulled the covers down. I climbed in behind her and spooned her to me, stroking her hair until I felt her breathing even out and I knew she was sleeping.

Sookie

I woke up with the worst hangover I had ever had in my life. I thought I was going to die. I was still fully dressed except for my shoes, but under the covers and alone. I sat up and saw a note from Eric on my night stand.

Sookie,

I'm so sorry about what you had to go through last night. I'm here for you if you want to talk. Actually, even if you don't want to talk, that's okay too. Either way, please call me.

Eric

And then his number was across the bottom of the page. How would I ever be able to face him again? He had seen me so drunk and acting ridiculous with those guys at Bob's house. What are the odds that he was at the same party? Then I cried all over his shirt. Oh and then I grabbed his dick and he pushed me away. Oh my god. And then he watched me throwing up. I should just move to another country.

Okay, and now as if facing Eric again wasn't bad enough, I'll have do deal with Bill. That thought sent me into another crying jag that lasted for awhile. I finally dragged my hungover butt out of bed and went to make some coffee. I realized that my phone battery had died, so I plugged it in. I had eight messages from Bill.

I made myself eat something and took a shower, but put on pajamas and spent most of the day in bed feeling sorry for myself. I managed to do a little studying and finally at the end of the day I listened to my messages. I knew that if I ignored him, Bill would probably come knocking on my door, and I certainly didn't want that. Every message was an apology. I guess he did sound sorry, but I just couldn't imagine forgiving him. All those feelings about Bill were coupled with the tremendous guilt I felt for what had happened (or almost happened) in Eric's room while he slept. Had I lost my mind? I was so mad at Bill for cheating on me, but then wasn't I about to do that exact same thing with Eric in his bedroom? I was just overwhelmed with emotions and felt so confused.

Then there was a knock at the door. I knew it was Bill but just didn't want to face him. As quietly as I could, I tip-toed to the door and looked through the peep hole, holding my breath. Eric. Oh my god. He was looking down at the ground and I could tell he was listening. Had he heard me on the other side of the door? I froze. He looked so good. A part of me wanted to open the door and grab him. Having him hold me last night felt so good and I needed to feel good. But then I remembered that he had also pushed my hand away and then gotten a good view of me vomiting into the toilet. Good lord. And now I looked like hell in my pajamas all hungover. I stood there watching him and my heart just broke. Under other circumstances seeing Eric at my door would make me the happiest girl in the world. But in reality, I was just a mess and in no condition to see anyone, much less the object of my true desire. The tears fell as I watched him turn and walk away. I thought I just can't see him right now.

When Amelia came home, she held me while I cried for awhile too. She had stayed at Bob's and Pam had told her that I was in good hands with Eric.

I finally got up the nerve to call Bill back. He said he was sorry. I cried and told him I didn't want to see him anymore, and I meant it. He asked if he could come over so we could talk about it, and I said no. I hung up and just couldn't stop crying. I was done with Bill. Honestly, at that moment I felt like I was done with all men.

Eric

After Sookie fell asleep, I walked over to Pam's apartment. The walk to my place would have taken a lot longer which was no big deal, but I didn't want to see Bill or Lorena. Pam's was closer and I had a key, so I let myself in and crashed on the couch. Pam had apparently had a good night because she didn't come home until about ten the next morning. We went out to eat and then she took me back to my house. I packed up my clothes and books and loaded them into my car and left a note for Bill that I would have all my stuff out by the end of the week and that he could keep my security deposit since I wasn't giving a thirty day notice. I had thought about it the night before when I was trying to sleep on Pam's couch. I loved the convenience of Bill's place and the parties were great and getting laid was as easy as turning to the girl next to me and saying yes, but after what Bill and Lorena did to Sookie, I just didn't want to be a part of that place anymore. It just didn't feel right.

I wanted to check on Sookie and make sure she was okay, but didn't have her number of course. Later in the day I drove over to her place. Her car was still where I had parked it the night before. I knocked on the door and I thought I heard someone on the other side. I waited and listened and knew that she was probably looking out her peep hole at me. How long can a guy stand there without feeling like a complete fool? Pretty long actually. At least it felt like a long time. I finally left and thought, shit, she doesn't want to see me. There was nothing else I could do but wait for her to call.

I slept on Pam's couch until I found another place. It was an apartment in Pam's building with a guy named Clancy. He had a spare room and the rent was about the same as I had paid at Bill's. Clancy seemed like a nice enough guy, so I thought why not. Without all the parties and girls maybe I just might get more studying done anyway. I had a double major--Business and Art History--and I really did need to knuckle down and perform if I wanted to get a scholarship to film school. I really wanted to become a director, but didn't have the money myself to pay for graduate school. My parents both died when I was eleven and I was raised by my aunt Sophie-Anne. She's great, but there wasn't any money for college. I was lucky enough to get a full scholarship for my undergraduate degree, and I would need to do the same if I wanted to finish what I started and get my masters.

I waited to hear from Sookie. If I'd had her number I would have called her of course. I'd considered just looking at her phone that night and getting it, but that didn't feel right. I wanted her to_ want_ me to have it. I just wanted her to want me period. But I knew that it would most likely be a very long time before she was ready to trust a guy with her heart again.


	6. Chapter 6

Sookie

I did fail my Accounting midterm. I asked the professor if there was any way to earn extra credit, but she said no. So I made it my mission to do my best on the final. I scored a 98, but that still only got me a C in the class. That was the first C I had ever made and it made me so mad that I'd let Bill upset me so much that it cost me a like that and I vowed that nothing like that would ever happen again. I wouldn't let it happen.

After a month or so, I ran into Eric one day on campus. He was sitting on the grass in front of the student union reading and he was so beautiful it just took my breath away. My heart had hardened after the whole Lorena incident and for the first time since that night I felt a little flutter of my heart and a little whoosh in my coochie. What can I say? The man is physical perfection. I took a deep breath and walked up to him. "Hi Eric."

"Sookie!" Wow. That smile. "How are you? Have a seat."

I plopped down beside him on the grass. "I'm good. How have you been?"

It was so good to see him. I tried not to think about the last time I had been with him. I was still so embarrassed. I knew that I should thank him for taking me home that night and staying with me and taking care of me, but the thought of bringing all that up was just too much. I really just wanted to forget all of that night. We made small talk and he told me about an art history class he was taking and it was so cute to watch how enthusiastic he was about it. I lost track of time looking into those blue eyes. Before I knew it, I had to go to make it to my next class. I stood up to leave and so did he. He took my hand in his and I felt my heart race. "I was hoping to hear from you, Sookie. I'd love to see you sometime. Maybe we could have dinner, go to a movie?" Oh my god, is he asking me out? I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Yeah, maybe. That sounds nice. I'll call you. I still have your number."

"Great. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon then."

And then he leaned in and gave me the softest little kiss on the lips. I think I stopped breathing and my heart stopped, but I managed to say a little "bye," as I turned to walk away.

Eric

I waited and waited but there was no phone call from Sookie after that awful night with Bill and Lorena. Did I really expect that she would call? After all, I was probably a reminder of the whole Bill thing for her. I really wished I had her number, but I didn't. And maybe the last thing she needed was some guy who wanted to sweep her off her feet and be her new boyfriend when she was still messed up from her last boyfriend. Damn that Bill. Motherfucker.

Then I saw her one day on campus. I heard my name and I knew her voice and it made my heart jump and then seeing her standing there made something else jump as well. God she was so gorgeous, and she didn't have a clue. She sat down and we talked for awhile. I was very careful to not mention Bill or anything Bill-related. I wanted her to think of me separately from that whole fiasco. I was separated from it actually. I hadn't seen Bill or Lorena once since that night. I wanted to ask her out, but didn't want to seem too pushy. I figured that she would still be a little skittish—it hadn't been that long since she was hurt. So I asked, but then left it up to her to call me. She seemed happy about the idea of a date and I felt encouraged enough to give her a kiss before she walked off. I watched her go and couldn't wipe the smile off my face for days.

Sookie

I couldn't stop thinking about Eric. He was ridiculously good-looking. And was so sweet to me. But why would he want to go out with me? I thought back to how many different girls he must have slept with in the time I had known him, and it was pretty intimidating. It grossed me out actually. Could I ever really date a guy like Eric? Seeing Bill with Lorena had hurt me so badly. And yet here I was considering a date with the biggest Casanova on campus. What was I thinking? I remembered that kiss behind the convenience store and it made my palms sweat. Then I remembered that night I watched him sleep and almost jumped on him. My god, that felt amazing. But then I thought about that awful night in my room and how he had removed my hand from his hard-on and that made me want to crawl under a rock. I spent a few days bouncing back and forth between yes, I absolutely want to go out with Eric and no, I absolutely could never go out with Eric. Then my decision got a lot easier the day I saw Bill.

I was leaving the library one night walking to my car and he was walking right at me. I knew he had already seen me and he knew that I saw him, so there was no getting around it. I stopped and said hello. He asked if we could go somewhere for coffee and I said no, so he settled for walking me to my car. I had not given him permission to walk me to my car, but it was a public sidewalk, so what could I do? He said he missed me and he was sorry and he still loved me. None of it had any impact. My heart was stone to him. He said, "I hope you know that I'm not with Lorena. She was just hanging out at the house a lot because of Eric." I held my breath. "I guess they had had a fight or something and he wouldn't let her give him head and she wanted to get back at him, and well, you know what happened. Anyway, I'm so sorry, Sookie. Please give me another chance."

"I'm sorry too Bill, but I can't." I said goodnight at my car and he stood there while I drove away and I felt like I would never want to go on another date for the rest of my life.

Eric

I waited. No call. After a few weeks, I started to feel like a schmuck and gave up. I really thought there was something there between us, but apparently it was just one-sided. I went back to my usual meaningless fucks, even though there weren't nearly as many of them as when I had lived at Bill's. But apparently I just wasn't going to get a shot at my dream girl after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Pam

I love Eric. I'm sure I know him better than anyone, including the very few family members he has left. Sometimes it feels lonely being the only person who truly appreciates him.

I can see that he has it bad for Sookie Stackhouse, and I can see why. She is sweet and smart and beautiful without knowing it and I can see that she is crazy about Eric. I don't think she has really admitted that to herself though, but anyone in the room with them can see it. You can feel it. It's as if there's a lightning bolt of energy connecting them. I love to see that look in his eyes when he's watching her. That's the look of hope and it warms my heart.

Unfortunately, he is too immature to realize what he needs to do to win the ever-elusive Miss Stackhouse. I know he can't help that. He's a guy.

I used to watch them together at Bill's house. It was so obvious to me that they had it bad for each other. I think Bill was too clueless to see it, fortunately. I hinted to her that I wished a girl like her for Eric and I saw her blush. I knew she had thought of it herself. I tried many times to sit Eric down and explain the ways of the world to him. I told him that he needed to stop collecting nameless vaginas and displaying them in front Sookie's innocent face. I knew that he was going to creep her out, scare her off. Why would a girl ditch her perfectly reasonable boyfriend to be with a horny skirt chaser? He had heart-breaker written all over his crotch-eating face. When will guys ever learn? She needs to know that he would be good to her, and I know he would be. But his ridiculous behavior did not indicate such potential.

Then I saw her one night at Bob's house. Bob lived just off campus in a big house that was always full of fun. I knew that he occasionally dated Sookie's roommate, so I wasn't terribly surprised to see Sookie there. But I was surprised at her condition when I got there. She had clearly had a huge head start in the party department and was very very drunk or high or both. I tried to talk to her, but she mumbled something about Eric and Bill and needing to get kissed. I could see that she was headed for trouble and by the time I had whipped out my phone to call in the troops, she had already kissed two guys and was gathering a horny little fan club. I seriously considered taking matters into my own hands, but Eric said he was on his way and I knew he'd be more likely to scare the little fuckers off of our girl. He's a lot bigger than I am.

It broke my heart to watch him walk her out the door. I had never seen her like that and by the look on his face something was terribly wrong. He was in pain. I told her roommate that Eric had taken her home and that he would take care of her. I secretly hoped that something might happen between them. But then I rethought that and knew that he would never take advantage of her while she was so drunk. Not that I hadn't seen him leading many a drunk girl up to his bed before, but I knew how he felt about Sookie.

When I found him on my couch the following morning he looked like he had had a rough night and needed some pancakes. I was shocked when he asked if he could stay on my couch for awhile. I knew how much he loved living in that house. It was cheap and close to campus and full of pretty girls—one in particular. I told him that of course, he could stay as long as he wanted and didn't even need to ask. After a few days, he told me what had happened to Sookie. Then the whole drunk episode made sense and I understood why he had wanted to move out, although I was still surprised by that. He had it worse for her than I thought. At first I thought, oh good—Bill's probably out of the way. And then that was immediately followed by, oh shit—it's probably going to be awhile before she's ready to date.

Eric moved in with a guy in my building which was great. I got to see a little more of him than when he was at Bill's. I kept hoping that I'd see Sookie there some as well, but after awhile, I started seeing different girls instead, skanky ones in fact. The kind he had usually preferred when he was at Bill's house. I watched one leave one Sunday morning and then knocked on his door. After a reasonable amount of small talk, I asked, "So what's with the vagina train again? I thought that since Sookie was unattached that maybe you'd settle down. She didn't go back to Bill did she?"

"Why don't you mind your own fucking business." But then the look on my face seemed to snap him out of his assholeness. "Jesus, I'm sorry. You know what, honestly, I don't know. I'm assuming she didn't stay with Bill, but I really don't know. I gave her my number but she never called. If she doesn't like me, fine. There are plenty of other girls who do."

"Why don't you just call her?"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

God I hated to see that look in his eyes. He was hurting.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I accidentally uploaded a first draft of chapter 8 earlier instead of chapter 7. The real chapter 7 is up now and that ridiculous imposter chapter has been deleted. And now this is the real version of chapter 8. My apologies for the confusion, and I promise not to try and upload any more before I've had my coffee. If any of you read the imposter chapter 8, please read this new one as well. Eric said he wanted more face time in it and that I owed him one for letting everybody read about Pam's neutering lecture about his wayward gracious plenty in chapter 7. (I love it when he gets demanding.)

Sookie

It was a very long time before I had another date. Several guys had asked me out in class, but I just wasn't interested. I focused on my grades and hung out with friends on the weekends. I still had Eric's number and I'll admit that I came close to calling him quite a few times. My brain told me that he was a player and I would just get played and would be a fool to call him. But my body told me that he was also the sexiest guy on the planet and I could never get that night out of my head—the one where he was asleep while I was touching myself. And then I laughed out loud when I realized that that was the last time I had had a sexual encounter and the other person slept right through it. How pathetic was that? I knew that I really needed to get back into the game, but my heart just wasn't in it. The guys in school all just seemed so immature to me.

Amelia was always trying to talk me into dating again and finally at the end of the year I decided that I would give it a try. There were always a lot of parties at the very end of the semester—people celebrating their exams being over. I had been a little party shy since that night that I got so drunk and sick, but decided that it was time to be a big girl and have some fun. So one Saturday night I got all dressed up with Amelia and we went to a big bash at a house just off campus. It was packed and it didn't take long for quite a few guys to come up and talk to me. I was careful not to drink too much because I was driving and also because I had learned a hard lesson at the party at Bob's. Amelia was having fun and actually found Bob there and told me she wouldn't be going home with me. She and Bob had always had a sort of casual thing together, which was fine, although I couldn't really imagine such a thing for myself.

I was enjoying the attention from several cute guys that seemed nice enough, wondering if I should give my number to any of them when I decided to find the bathroom. I gave myself a little pep talk in the mirror and made the decision that I was definitely going to give my number out to someone. I was making my way back to the dining room where I had been holding court when I spotted Eric sitting on the sofa in the living room. I felt my breath catch in my throat. He had a girl on either side of him of course, but the disturbing part was that one of them was cuddled up to him kissing his neck. I stopped and watched for a minute, feeling my face turn red with…envy? Jealousy? Yes, I was jealous. He was clearly enjoying himself, laughing and whispering to her. Her hand was on his thigh. The girl was very pretty although kind of hard looking. I knew I could never pull that kind of outfit off. I looked down to my own clothes and realized that my idea of dressing up for a party was so tame and suddenly I felt out of place. Clearly, this was the kind of girl Eric preferred. I guess all guys did, actually. She was a guaranteed lay, that's for sure, and Eric was a guy. I couldn't really blame him for doing what came naturally, but I would also be lying if I said that it didn't hurt.

Suddenly, flirting and finding a guy to give my number to didn't seem like such a priority anymore and so I left.

While most students went home for the summer, Amelia and I stayed in our apartment and got waitress jobs. I didn't have anywhere else to go really. I was raised by my grandmother after my parents died when I was seven. My older brother Jason lived in our parents' old house and when Gran died, she left me her house. But it was over an hour away in a little town called Bon Temps. It was too far for me to commute for school, so I rented it out to a woman named Octavia and her rent covered the taxes and maintenance as well as part of my living expenses. The rest was paid for with a scholarship. Amelia's dad was wealthy but too busy to be a decent dad really. He paid for school for her, but she also wanted to work in the summers to earn her own money.

At the end of the summer, right before school started, we got a new manager at the restaurant. We only had another week or so before we would be quitting and starting back to school full-time. I needed to really work on my GPA because I wanted to get a good job when I graduated in the spring. I was determined to make straight A's to try and make up for that damned C in Accounting. So the day I met the new manager, I told him I'd be quitting at the end of the following week. He was fine with that and said that since he would no longer be my boss, he would like to ask me out for dinner.

His name was John Quinn and he was tall and very masculine with a shaved head and strong features. His eyes were almost purple and quite stunning. He also had a big brilliant smile and a great laugh. He seemed like a nice man and was not a student, so I hoped would be a little more mature, and so I told him he could call me after I had quit my job.

My classes were very demanding and the last thing I needed was a new boyfriend, so I told Quinn (He preferred to be called by his last name.) that we would be taking it slow and I wasn't ready for anything serious. He seemed fine with that. He really was an easy-going guy. I was also still acutely aware of how my involvement and subsequent meltdown over Bill's behavior had cost me dearly with my Accounting grade. I promised myself that that would never happen again.

So for the first semester of my senior year I focused on my grades and occasionally dated Quinn. We kissed a lot and once in awhile there was a little petting over our clothes, but I never went any further with him and he never pressured me. Well, not much anyway.

Finally, my last semester was starting and I was getting excited about graduating and looking for a job and starting a new life. I had a nice although fairly casual boyfriend in Quinn and things were looking up. Then I walked into my Film and Literature class and I lost my footing emotionally. I had been so certain that I had it together with my upcoming degree and my nice but not too messy relationship with Quinn. And then Eric was sitting in the back row of class when I walked in and I felt my knees go weak and remembered how good messy could feel.

His face lit up and he motioned for me to sit next to him. He stood and gave me a little hug and we chatted a little before class started. I tried to concentrate but his body beside me was like a giant magnet. I could feel the electricity between us and wondered how I would get through a whole semester sitting beside him.

Eric

Pam gave me a lot of shit about the girls I was with. What did she expect me to do, sit at home my whole life waiting for Sookie to call me? It just felt so stupid to have gotten my hopes up. So, I was with a few girls—no big deal. I will admit, however, that that sort of relationship—if you can even use that word—was getting a bit tiresome. But I figured it was better than nothing.

Then one night I was at a party at the end of the year and found one of my semi-regular girls there. We were sitting on the sofa when Pam came over and said, "Way to go, Romeo. What the fuck are you doing?"

The girl attached to my neck said, "Hey, fuck you. I got here first."

I removed her hand from my leg and said, "This is my friend, Pam. Fuck you is not a proper greeting." She really was trash. "Let's try this again. Hello, Pam. How are you this evening? How nice to see you. Now, did you have something you wanted to ask me?"

"Yes. Why are you sitting there when Sookie Stackhouse just walked out the front door?"

I pushed the neck-kisser away and said, "Excuse me," and then, "Thanks," to Pam as I ran towards the door. Pam had a big smile on her face when she saw my reaction. I ran down the sidewalk, but didn't see Sookie. There were a lot of people coming and going from the house and I couldn't see past them, so I got desperate and called her name out. No response. But the people around me looked at me like I was a fool, and maybe I was.

After walking the streets for awhile, I finally gave up and went home. I had a long talk with myself and said that I was just going to have to suck it up and admit that I wasn't going to be with Sookie and move on. It was ridiculous to waste time thinking about a girl that wasn't interested and so I decided to just stop it.

The next day Pam asked what had happened and I told her that I couldn't find Sookie. I said, "She never called anyway, remember? She doesn't like me, Pam. It's really no big deal."

"Except that it's a huge deal, Eric. I saw the look on her face when she was watching you on the couch with that girl. You act like having all these girls around is no big deal, but there are consequences to your behavior. Look, I know you. I know what kind of person you are, but she doesn't. She only knows what she sees. How do you think she felt watching you? How many nights at Bill's house did she see that kind of behavior from you? And now you wonder why she didn't call?"

"What was the look on her face?"

"Hurt."

"Fuck. You're right. I need to get my shit together." Pam was almost always right, damn it.

I spent that summer staying in Shreveport. I took a couple of classes in the summer session and worked as a teaching assistant. I also started writing, and worked on a couple of script ideas. If I could get into film school, I already knew what kinds of films I was interested in making. As I headed into my last year, I was focused on my classes.

I tried to get over Sookie Stackhouse and felt like I was making progress in that department. And I finally admitted to myself that my own behavior may have contributed to her decision to stay away from me. I had accepted her rejection and was doing fairly well with all of that until the first day of class in my final semester. She was in my Film and Literature class. She walked into the room and it was like the whole world was back in color after being in black and white for a long time. She looked so good. I gave her a hug and asked her to sit beside me and felt like I was back in junior high fighting a woody in class through the whole lecture. It was impossible to think about anything else when she was sitting next to me and I knew I wasn't over her by a longshot.

Sookie

Okay, so three days a week, I sat through class in a perpetual state of sexual arousal. It was just like when I used to be in Bill's house and Eric was in the room. He was just so sexy and being around him made me feel sexy. After that first week of class, Quinn and I went out to dinner and afterwards when we were in his apartment making out, I got so horny thinking about Eric that I just let Quinn fuck me. I didn't really mean to, but a girl can only take so much sexual frustration. Quinn seemed pleased and it would remain my little secret whose face I saw when I closed my eyes and had an orgasm.

Within a few weeks of class, Eric asked me out. A part of me was dying to go out with him. He was the man of my every sexual fantasy as well as the star of some pretty hot dreams, but the reality was that he was still the guy who lived at Bill's house and who had been dating Lorena and who had had a slew of casual sexual partners. Plus I had a boyfriend.

Eric

I spent the first three weeks of class drooling over Sookie like an idiot. I wanted to ask her out immediately, but then reminded myself that she clearly was not interested in me or she would have called way back when. But being around her was like torture. It had been awhile since I had had sex. I had tired of the casual partners that I was accustomed to and wanted something more meaningful. Something with someone like Sookie Stackhouse. Plus I was really into my classes. I had applied to graduate school and was waiting to hear about my scholarship and needed to get the best grades I could. But I couldn't stand being around her and so finally one Friday we were leaving class and I just turned to her and said, "Would you have dinner with me tonight?"

She looked shocked. She didn't answer right away and kind of stammered. "I have a boyfriend."

"Oh." I'm such an idiot. Of course she has a boyfriend. Look at her. Then I took my huge idiot-ness one step further. "Do you love him?" The second it left my mouth I wanted to take it back. It was none of my business. Plus I couldn't take it if she said yes.

"Don't know yet." At least it wasn't a yes.

So I spent my weekends after that studying and jerking off while thinking about someone else's girlfriend. Like I said, idiot.

Sookie

So I didn't go out with the impossibly sexy and smart Eric, but my love life was definitely heating up with Quinn. We spent every weekend together and I was having regular orgasms again which was a plus, but he didn't feel like the right guy and I knew it. I started to think that I should maybe break it off with him. Maybe I was just using him. It didn't seem right. The irony didn't escape me that the only reason I'd slept with Quinn in the first place is because I was so turned on by Eric. And then Eric himself asked me out only a couple of weeks later. And of course, I felt like I had to say no to Eric because I was sleeping with Quinn. I guess it's true that timing is everything.

Then one day in the middle of the semester, Eric asked if I would like to come over to watch a movie for class together. We were required to watch quite a few movies and it didn't seem like a date to watch one with Eric. It was more like studying together. I almost said yes and then caught myself.

"You know what, Eric. I would, but I just can't go over to your house. I'm sorry but it would just be too weird."

"I promise I won't hit on you. I know you've got a boyfriend. Honestly, we'll just watch the movie and I'll behave."

"No, it's not that. I just don't want to see Bill."

"Bill? I don't live with Bill anymore. I haven't since that night…you know…_that _night."

I was shocked. "You're kidding? What happened?"

"Nothing. It just didn't seem right. I couldn't stay there after that."

"I had no idea."

"So will you come over? I'll pick up some food. I can pick you up as well if you'd like. It's up to you."

"Um…no, that's okay. I'll just meet you there. You can just give me the address if that's okay. What's for dinner?" It seemed that I had a kind of a date with Eric. Oh my god.


	9. Chapter 9

Eric

I invited Sookie over to watch a movie for class. It wasn't a date, but who was I kidding? I wanted to be alone with her. She started to say no and I felt my ego deflating, but then she told me that she couldn't because she thought that Bill would be there. I hadn't realized that she thought I still lived with Bill. That was ancient history to me. Then I wondered if that had anything to do with her not calling me after that kiss in front of the student union. Maybe now that she knew Bill wasn't in the picture, maybe I had a shot with her. But then I reminded myself that she had a boyfriend. And while that meant nothing to me, chances are it meant a lot to her.

But I could still enjoy her company for the evening. It was a place to start anyway.

Sookie

Eric lived in a small two bedroom apartment with a guy named Clancy. It was a far cry from party central at Bill's house and I felt much more comfortable there. We invited Clancy to join us for Chinese takeout, but he was on his way to the library and had already eaten. The movie was Brokeback Mountain. We had both already read the novella by Annie Proulx for class so I knew what to expect and wondered whether or not it might be uncomfortable to watch it with Eric. Then I decided that just being in the room with Eric was uncomfortable enough no matter what we were watching. We sat with a couple of feet between us on the sofa but I swear there was a perceptible buzz of electricity flowing between us. Having two gorgeous naked cowboys on the screen didn't help me much either. At one point I was so horny a sneeze would have made me come.

Eric

Good lord, she looked beautiful when she came over. But I was determined to be a gentleman. The last thing I wanted to do was jump her bones and scare her off. I invited Clancy to eat with us but was relieved when he said he had to get to the library. Sookie and I sat on the sofa together and thankfully the two guys humping throughout the movie kept me from suffering the two hour boner I was anticipating with Sookie beside me. When it was over, we had a long discussion about the novella and the movie. Sookie was very bright and intuitive and made some good points. I kept getting distracted by those perfect lips and that beautiful smile and like a teenaged fool, I interrupted her and blurted out, "Why didn't you call me after that day in front of the student union?" She looked shocked. "I'm sorry. I just interrupted you. That was rude."

"No, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting that question. Um…why didn't I call you? Well, I thought about it. I wanted to. But then I found out that you had dated Lorena and I just…"

"What? I never dated Lorena!"

"Well, I guess dated isn't really the right word."

"Sookie, I never _anythinged_ Lorena. I couldn't stand her. Where did you hear that?"

"It doesn't matter….wait, you know what, I'll tell you. I guess you deserve to know what people say about you. Bill said that she hung around the house to be with you and that she was only with him because you…um…wouldn't let her give you head." She looked down and actually blushed.

"Well, that part is true. But I don't believe for a minute that she was hanging around because of me. She did hit on me a few times and there was one night that she came into my room and she did get down on her knees. I'm sorry. You don't need to hear this. It's rude. But _nothing_ happened. I swear. I never even kissed her. I didn't like her."

"Oh."

"So, was that the only reason? That you didn't call?"

"Well, not really. I guess that was the biggest one. I am really attracted to you, Eric." She blushed again and it was all I could to do keep my hands to myself. "I guess that was obvious after that night behind the convenience store. And then _that_ night. God, that was so embarrassing. I wish I could just erase that whole night." She kind of shook her head and started playing with the cuff of her blouse like it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen. "But after that whole Bill thing, I just didn't want to get involved with another guy that can't keep it in his pants. I mean, I don't mean to be tactless, but you did have like a million girls. Probably still do. I don't blame you really. I guess if I were a guy and looked like you do…"

"Sookie. First of all, I'm not like that anymore. I'm not seeing anybody now. I was with a lot of girls when I was at Bills' house. And then later as well. My behavior was…well…stupid. I can see now how unappealing that must be. I guess that that was a pretty immature way of dealing with the fact that I couldn't have the one girl I really wanted. To anybody else at Bill's house I'm sure I looked like an arrogant womanizer, but inside I just felt like a schmuck who was in love with his housemate's girlfriend." She looked up from her cuff and a glimmer of shock crossed her face before she looked back down.

"I guess it's normal for a guy to want somebody else's girlfriend, huh?"

"No. I wanted you way before that. I had seen you on campus and was determined to find out who you were, and then when I realized that you were dating Bill…well, I guess I was just frustrated and didn't know what to do with those feelings. So I acted like an asshole. I'm sorry I didn't deal with it very well. I wanted to talk to you about it. Actually, I had decided that I would, and then…well…that whole mess happened."

"But then that night, Eric. You pushed me away and told me no. I don't understand. If you liked me…"

"Well, that was the problem. I way more than liked you, Sookie. I loved you. And I didn't want to be the asshole that took advantage of you when you were vulnerable. I wanted our first time to be special…See, I told you I was a schmuck."

"No, Eric. You're not a schmuck." Then she finally looked into my eyes. "I had no idea." And then she slowly brought her face closer to mine and put her hand on the side of my face. I held still, not wanting to ruin the moment by being aggressive and grabbing her the way I wanted to. When her lips touched mine, it was so soft and sweet. It was nothing like the kiss behind the convenience store. Her lips parted and allowed my tongue to enter her mouth. She tasted so sweet and when her tongue found mine, we both softly moaned and I shifted my body so that I could hold her. She felt so good in my arms and the kissing became more urgent. I finally had my dream girl and the rest of the world seemed so far away.

But then it came crashing down on us when her cell phone rang. She pulled back and looked at the number and then she sat back and started to smooth her hair, looking uncomfortable. She looked over at me and said sheepishly, "It's my boyfriend." Fuck.

She let it go to voicemail and then listened to it. Her eyes got wide, and then she jumped up and said, "I've got to go!"

"Is everything okay?"

"No. Well, I don't know. There's been a car accident. He's at the hospital with his mother and his sister."

"Do you want me to give you a ride?" Schmuck.

"No, that's okay. My car's here. I'm so sorry Eric. I have to go."

She jumped up and grabbed her purse and turned around when she got to the door. "Thanks for dinner and the movie and everything. I'm really sorry."

"Call me."

"Okay."

And the she was gone. And dammit, I _still_ didn't have her number.


	10. Chapter 10

Sookie

I was shocked back to reality when my phone rang. What was I doing? What was I thinking? I had a boyfriend and yet I was ready to make love with Eric right there on his sofa. He told me that he had never been with Lorena. And I reminded myself (and him) that he had been with a million other girls. And then he told me that he had _loved_ me. He actually used that word. I couldn't believe it. The man of my every sexual fantasy. And now also a friend whose opinions I valued and…well…a guy I really did like as a person. He had loved me, and I'd had no idea. He'd pushed my hand away that night because he wanted it to be special. Suddenly, I was looking at Eric in a whole new light. He wasn't just the sex god that made me wet every time he was in the room. Well, okay, he was still that. But now he was also the guy who had loved me and seen me on the worst night of my life and still wanted me. I couldn't stay away from him any longer and so I kissed him. Maybe it was because he had been with a million girls and had practiced so much. I just don't know. But that was the best, most passionate kiss I had ever had. I just melted into his arms and if he had asked me to fly to the moon with him I would have. But then the phone rang.

Quinn had broken his leg and would need surgery. His mother and sister were both banged up pretty badly as well. His sister, Frannie, had some pretty scary looking bandages on her face and his mother was still unconscious. Quinn asked me to call the restaurant and let them know. Then the following day, I had to deal with his insurance company and the car and his sister's boss as well. Suddenly, I had my hands full and any thoughts of breaking up with Quinn had to be put on the back burner. What kind of selfish bitch would break up with a guy under such circumstances? Even if she had been kissed by a god.

When I saw Eric in class two days later, I told him what had happened. He was polite and asked if he could do anything to help. I wanted to tell him that I didn't want to be with Quinn anymore, that I only wanted to be with him, but I knew that I couldn't really say that. Because Quinn needed me and I felt an obligation to him. It was so hard after that mind-blowing kiss, but I had to go back to just being Eric's friend and classmate.

A few weeks later, I ran into Pam at a coffee house and we sat and had a little chat. I had always liked her and thought that under other circumstances, maybe we could be good friends. She told me that after graduation, she had decided she would move to Los Angeles. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet. She was getting her degree in English, but wasn't ready to make a big decision about her future. Her family had money and would help her get set up in L.A. She was considering law school down the road or maybe a masters, but wanted to take a break and have some fun first. That sounded great to me. I had never been to L.A., and thought it sounded like a dream come true. I was really happy for her. Then she wanted to talk about Eric. I stiffened, not knowing how much I wanted to share about my feelings for Eric.

"It's none of my business, Sookie, but I love the guy and I know he's crazy about you. Always has been. When I called him that night from Bob's party, he couldn't get over there fast enough to be your hero. And then he moved out of his fucking house because what happened there upset _you_. I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life. But just so you know, he was the best boyfriend in the world. I know since you've known him, he's been a little lost. And his track record with women has been crap since we got here, but when we were in high school, he was so good to me. He was completely faithful and loyal and loving and respectful. I'm pretty sure I know him better than anyone, and I'm here to tell you that there is no better guy in the world than Eric Northman. That's all I'm going to say about that."

She gave me a kiss on the cheek before she left and I was left with a lot to think about regarding Eric, as usual.

The rest of that last semester flew by. I interviewed for several jobs at the campus placement center and landed my dream job at a P.R. firm in Los Angeles. I would be starting shortly after graduation. Amelia decided to go with me to California and try to get acting work. We couldn't wait to start our new lives.

I had been very busy helping Quinn recover from his accident and his surgery. When his mother and sister were all better and he no longer seemed to require my services, I broke up with him as gently as I could. I told him that I really did care for him, but I knew he wasn't _the_ _one_. We parted friends. I doubt if he was really surprised. Even after he'd recovered, I hadn't slept with him. After that kiss at Eric's I just couldn't. It didn't feel right.

Eric and I had become even better friends, even though I mostly only saw him in class and sometimes we'd have coffee afterwards before my next class. I knew very little about his plans after graduation, and didn't press him on it. I knew that he had gotten into grad school, but he didn't say where that was. I also knew that he was waiting to find out whether or not he had gotten a scholarship. It was a real possibility that he wouldn't get the money and I figured that it was kind of a touchy subject. As much as I was still madly attracted to him, I knew that it would just be stupid to start something up with a guy that was on his way to grad school god knows where while I was on my way to Los Angeles. I would just have to be satisfied with what we'd had. I had learned a lot about men and wondered what my future would hold in that department. Maybe someday I would meet another Eric Northman only this time the stars would be lined up a little better for us.

When I finished my last exam in my Film and Literature class, I emerged from the building to find Eric waiting for me. He walked me to my car and we said goodbye. I told him that I would be moving to L.A. shortly after graduation which was a week away. He told me he was happy for me that I'd found such a great job, and that I deserved it. He gave me a long warm hug and a soft kiss on the lips before I got into my car. I watched him walk away and was surprised at myself when the tears came. Under other circumstances, who knows what could have happened for us. I could see that he was so special and I was sorry that things hadn't gone differently. I cried a little harder when I admitted to myself that I loved him.


	11. Chapter 11

Sookie

The day I graduated was kind of bittersweet. It felt great to feel proud of my accomplishment, but seeing all the other parents and family members on campus made me feel alone. I had invited Jason to come, but he was busy. I have no idea doing what. He did send me a card with a check for fifty dollars in it.

Amelia's dad had invited me out to celebrate with them, but I felt like I would be intruding, so I made an excuse to go home. I ran into Pam on the way to my car and we stopped to chat. We exchanged numbers and promised to get together as soon as we both got to L.A. I told her about my job and that I was excited but nervous about starting. I didn't have many clothes that would work in an office and wasn't sure how I would afford them and told her that I might try and get a waitress job at night or on weekends at first until I could buy some more clothes. She said that she was getting rid of a bunch of stuff before she moved and that I was welcome to anything she didn't want. Pam always wore really cute clothes, and we were the same size. After a tiny internal debate I decided to take her up on it and thanked her profusely.

So, as planned, after dinner, I drove to Pam's to take her cast-offs. I hadn't realized that she lived in Eric's building, and it gave me a little jolt to my heart when I remembered that night we watched the movie and shared that perfect kiss. Pam and I had fun going through her closet and she gave me a whole bag of great clothes that would be perfect for work. I offered to pay her, but she insisted that she was planning on just tossing them and so I was welcome to them.

Just as we were finishing up, there was a knock on the door. Pam opened it up to a smiling Eric with a bottle of champagne in his hand. He stepped into the room and then turned to see me and that smile got even bigger. "Sookie! I'm so glad you're here. We can all celebrate together."

Pam brought out champagne glasses and we all toasted to our graduation day. But then Eric quietly added, "I'm also celebrating that I got the scholarship." Pam and I squealed and we all and hugged and jumped up and down. It was a great day.

After we finished the champagne, Eric said goodnight and left. I thanked Pam and promised to see her soon in L.A. I hauled my bag of new clothes down to my car and then turned around and looked back to Eric's building. Maybe it was the champagne. Maybe it was the general good mood. Maybe I was just feeling free and happy to be starting my new life. I don't know. But suddenly I thought, I have nothing to lose. I'm leaving soon anyway. What the heck.

I knocked on his door and when he opened it I just jumped in and kissed him.

Eric

I can remember feeling so cocky that I didn't care whether or not Sookie had a boyfriend, that I would just go after her anyway. Now I see that it's not quite that simple. I guess I always assumed that she would just dump anybody else once she'd been with me. I was wrong, and it was a painful lesson. I had hoped after that night at my apartment that Sookie would break up with her boyfriend and want to be with me. But of course, things don't always happen the way you want them to. She never called me that night from the hospital to let me know what was happening and after that whenever I would see her in class, she would talk about her boyfriend's injuries and her responsibilities to help him and his family. My expectations went right down the drain. She was obviously staying with him and apparently the kiss that had meant so much to me had not meant the same to her.

The rest of the semester I looked forward to seeing her in class and sometimes she would let me buy her a coffee afterwards. I was still in love with her and completely uninterested in other girls, but she was still with her boyfriend and we never talked about that kiss. After our last class, she let me walk her to her car. I was really happy for her at finding that job in L.A. and gave her a hug and kiss that I hoped let her know how much I still cared without crossing over that line. As much as I wanted her, I had to respect her choice.

Graduation was kind of a tough day for me. My aunt couldn't be there. (She lost her legs in an accident years ago and traveling was difficult for her.) But then that was also the day I got the news about the scholarship money. I ran out and bought a bottle of champagne (how nice to finally be of legal age) and took it over to Pam's to celebrate. I was pleasantly shocked to find Sookie there and happy to share the celebration with her as well. It was perfect actually. I left them to their evening that I had obviously interrupted and went home to start packing. But within minutes I was surprised to hear a knock at my door. I opened it to find a beautiful smiling Sookie and was even more surprised when she kind of leapt into my arms and planted the mother of all kisses on me. Could this day get any better?


	12. Chapter 12

Eric

Once I was over the shock, I was instantly hard and couldn't get enough of Sookie. She hopped up and wrapped her legs around my waist while still kissing me wildly and the whole world could have stopped revolving and we wouldn't have noticed. I managed to close the door and was grateful that Clancy wasn't home. I was seriously considering just laying Sookie onto the floor and fucking her, but then realized that that would just be wrong. She finally broke off the kiss just long enough to say, "Where's your bedroom?" Good lord. How was I going to stop this freight train?

I walked back into my room with her still attached to me and closed the door. I gently laid her back onto the bed and started to unbutton her blouse. I looked to her face for permission and her eyes were half closed with pure lust in them and I wondered how I was going to stop. I didn't want to do this if it was just a one night stand and then she was going back to her boyfriend. I wanted her to me mine. But then I knew that I wouldn't be able to control myself for long if she kept looking at me like that. I paused before opening her blouse and she reached down and opened it herself and pulled my head down to her breasts. I nibbled her perfect hard nipples through the lace of her bra as I reached behind her to unhook it. Once I had her blouse and bra off, I lost all control and was sucking on her breasts and massaging them. I had imagined them many times and they were even more perfect that I had hoped. She was so beautiful. I would have stayed there blissfully happy all night, but then she started to push me back to unbutton my shirt and so I leaned back and took it off for her. Then I started kissing her beautiful mouth again and the feel of her warm bare skin on mine was almost too much. We were both moaning and our hands were everywhere. Her lips were so soft. Her tongue was delicious. I remembered how those soft moans used to haunt me when I was alone in the next room at Bill's and I almost came in my pants. I realized that I was losing control and so I slowed way down and just held her for a minute while we caught our breath.

This time the kissing was slower and sweeter. I kissed down her neck and went back to those perfect breasts and buried my face in them, kissing and sucking. Sookie's hands went from massaging my shoulders and arms to unfastening her skirt. She pushed me off of her for just an instant while she hooked her thumbs into her waistband and pushed her skirt down, taking her panties with it. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I saw her beautiful body in all it's glory and thought that life couldn't get any better until she slowly opened her legs and showed me the promised land. There is nothing that could have stopped me at that point and my tongue found her ready for me while her moans got louder. She threaded her fingers through my hair and her hips found a rhythm that pleased her. I gave my all to my task and was happy when I felt her getting close. Her breathing quickened. Her soft moans turned into, "oh Eric," and "yes, Eric," and "right there, Eric." When she came she pushed her hips up and cried out. My fingers felt the rhythm of her contractions and I just wanted to live there for the rest of my life.

Sookie

I had never wanted a man more in my life. He was the sweetest, most perfect lover I had ever had. He paid such detailed attention to my breasts, my neck, my lips. I couldn't get my panties off fast enough and just like I had hoped, he gave that same special attention where I wanted it the most when I spread my legs. The man had talents I had never experienced before. Suddenly I didn't care that he had probably fucked a million girls if it gave him these skills. He was unbelievable. I had a powerful orgasm while pressing myself up into his mouth. I couldn't get close enough to him. That tongue. Good lord.

As I recovered, I started to reach down to unbutton his pants. He stopped me and took my hand away and kissed it. I thought, oh no, not again. What does a girl have to do around here to get her hands on that cock? I looked into his eyes and said, "Eric?'

"I don't want us to do anything that you might regret later."

"I won't."

"Okay, but let's just slow down a minute okay? What about your boyfriend?"

"We broke up. Weeks ago. I couldn't be with him again after that night we kissed. I mean, I've seen him, but you know…I couldn't _be_ with him."

"Really? Oh, okay. Good. But we don't have to do this right now, sweetie. Don't get me wrong, I want you. I want you more than anything. But I don't want you to feel rushed."

"Rushed? Good lord, Eric. I've waited for you for four years. I don't want to wait any more. Please don't make we wait any more." Those seemed to be the magic words because then he took his pants and boxers off himself and lay back down beside me while I found where my hand had longed to be for a very long time.

I know I'm pretty inexperienced, having been with only two men, but I couldn't imagine a more beautiful specimen of a man than Eric. He was huge and so hard and ready for me. I stroked him with both hands while his fingers found their way back into me, and we both relaxed into the pleasure of what our hands could do for each other. We took our time, but soon I felt like I was going to come again and I wanted him inside me. I asked if he had a condom and he reached into the drawer of his night stand and pulled one out and rolled it onto himself. He positioned his body over mine and I reached down and put his tip at my entrance and held still. I had thought about this moment many nights. We locked eyes, he smiled gently, and he whispered, "I love you, Sookie," as he entered me. I know I tried to speak but it just came out as a long, "Ahhhh." The size of him was shocking. He started off so slowly and he kissed me tenderly, but then the strokes became more powerful and got faster. He was an amazing lover. I opened my eyes and watched the muscles in his arms and chest as he rode me and then looked down and watched with fascination as he went in and out of me. I had never seen anything more beautiful. When I looked back up to his face he was smiling and his blue eyes were twinkling. I smiled back and then his lips were crashing into mine again. As I got closer, I started to moan and so did he. Just as we were both going over the edge, he broke the kiss and buried his face into my neck. His back bowed and I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly as his whole body trembled. I could feel the pulsating of both our climaxes together inside me and I said, "I love you too," as I clung to him.

We lay together panting and sweating and just holding on to each other for dear life for a long time. Then he brushed my hair back from my face and kissed me and said, "You're so beautiful."

I smiled and said, "I'm so happy," and I was. After a long time of kissing and cuddling, Eric pulled out and went to dispose of the condom. When he came back we got under the covers and I snuggled into his chest as he held me to him and kissed the top of my head.

I started to think about how wonderful Eric was and how meaningful our lovemaking had been and started to feel so sad that I was leaving. The tears started and I turned and buried my face into his chest and cried softly.

"Sookie. Honey, what is it? Why are you sad?"

"Oh Eric. We waited so long and it's just so beautiful to be here with you. You're even better than I imagined, and…well…that's saying something." I felt him chuckle as he stroked my hair.

"That's nothing to feel sad about, my love. This is a happy day. The happiest of days."

"I know but I'm leaving for L.A. in just a few days and you're going off to graduate school, and who knows when we'll ever see each other again. We finally just got together and now I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me, Sookie. I can promise you that. This is just the beginning for us."

"But how is it going to work? I'll be in L.A. and you'll be…actually, where will you be?"

"In L.A." I sat up and looked at his face in disbelief. "I'm going to film school. At USC. In L.A. Where did you think I was going?"

"I don't know. I guess I hadn't thought about it. I just knew you were getting your masters."

"Yeah. In Film Production. In L.A. Where you'll be." His smile was huge.

"Oh my god!" I wrapped my arms around him and we were kissing and laughing. Then he broke the kiss and looked me in the eye.

"Sookie?"

"Yes, honey."

"Do you think that now I can have your phone number?"

"Yeah, I think so."

And that was the beginning of our new lives.

XXX

A/N: Please enjoy the sequel, Love in L.A. next!


End file.
